


Round and Round

by NIghtsShadeWolfess



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Happy Birthday Monika, Magic AU, Repeating AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16070414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NIghtsShadeWolfess/pseuds/NIghtsShadeWolfess
Summary: Round and round the story goes. Round and round our lives do flow. Welcome to the literature club, this time I'll be your host.





	Round and Round

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic in celebration of Monika for her birthday. Sorry if this seems rushed or a little messy anywhere, I didn't edit this at all since I wanted to have it up for Monika's birthday. So take this story I wrote over the course of 4ish hours and hopefully enjoy it! Works that I post going forward will hopefully get a little more polish added to them as this was a last minute decision to write for our favorite little murderer.

You lazily walked up the street as the early rays of dawn followed you, painting the sky behind you a stunning shade of crimson as you walked such a familiar path. Of course, it was familiar considering you were just walking one house over to knock on your best friend's door. But, it was also familiar in a way that no one else would have the power to understand. Well, maybe one person, but even then her own knowledge of the events following her reign was iffy at best. Certainly, they weren't reliable, so your crystal clear memories and thoughts were the only documentation of those times. And those documentations were only physically recorded through the use of poems. You'd gotten good with poems. You certainly weren't some shut-in or weeb anymore. This time was different. Of course, you'd said that a lot of other times but those were merely preparation for what now seemed to be a grand finale. Each run started to be 'different' when Yuri stopped giving you sad looks when you gave her your 'first' poem and you realized that you could quote actual lines of Shakespeare. Of course, that had originally started out as a joke for certain situations but you found yourself falling deeper and deeper. It didn't really matter though, all those old runs were dust on the breeze at this point. This was the one that matter. And oh boy, was it about to get 'different'. 

Rapping your fist on the door a couple times you inspected your nails while you waited patiently for an answer. It took a couple of moments, but the person to open the door was Sayori's mother. Her face instantly jumped upwards in an expression of joy as she welcomed you in. "Oh good morning dear, it's always so good to see you in the mornings. I know you make things a lot easier on poor Sayori, always so helpful," her words came out in a happy coo and you nodded your head. The girl in question likely wouldn't even think about waking up for another 10 minutes with your prompting. If you left her be then she was liable to sleep through the whole morning and get to school saddeningly late. At least, from your experiences in runs far gone. This run, this grand finale, this special and spectacular fix it up run... well, you learned from Monika's mistakes. Instead of jumping into changing things immediately you showed patience. You learned the rules, the patterns, how it all ticked, this amazing and beautiful and terrifying world that Monika thought of as a game. And when you were satisfied with how much you learned, you changed things at an extreme. How flexible you found the past to be. 

"Of course miss, Sayori's my best friend after all. I'd do anything to keep her happy and safe. You just make sure you're to work on time and I'll make sure that Sayori gets to school on time, happy and fed," you said with a reassuring smile. It wasn't more than 2 years ago you believed that you mentioned noticing a certain change about Sayori's temperament to both her and her parents. At the time her parents had brushed it off, but Sayori had been taken off guard. Still in the early throes of depression, you'd taken notice and perhaps that scared her enough into admitting that she thought she might have it. She tried getting you to not fuss over her or anything but if anything this little repeating circle had made you stubborn. And so, you dragged Sayori to the doctors. Lo and behold she got a diagnosis and her parents freaked out, shocked and mostly appalled with themselves, but also grateful to you for catching it. And such started a tradition of you waking Sayori up, making breakfast for the both of you, and walking her to school since her parents had rather intense jobs that kept them from being home often. 

So as Sayori's mother walked out of the house with an appreciative smile you set to work on your task. After so many resets basic skills like cooking were of little issue to you. Of course, baking was even easier, something you most certainly blamed Natsuki for with all the teasing affection you could muster for one of the girls who had become something of a sister to you. Most of the girls in the club had, all but one. You felt the smallest hint of a shiver run up your spine and you banished your musing to focus on the eggs you were deftly cracking into the pan. You weren't feeling all too hungry this morning so you only made eggs for Sayori. You'd have some toast or something. The eggs cooked quickly enough. Sayori liked them sunny side up so you tried your best to oblige her, even going the extra mile of putting the pan under the oven broiler to make sure that there was no rim of wet around the yolks. Just as you were sliding the eggs onto a plate and adding a couple slices of toast you heard the padding of a pair of feet quickly descending the stairs. The gait was uneven and obviously still heavy with sleep. 

"Hey, up on your own this morning?" You say as you turn around to find the coral haired menace you call a best friend. Her eyes are glazed with sleep but you can still see the hints of ravenous hunger starting to peak through them as she wakes up. She hasn't even changed out of her pajamas yet and her blanket is around her shoulders. This is one of the reasons you show up so early. It's hard to get her ready in time. You adore the girl, but she moves like a snail in the mornings. "That's progress, I'm glad," you throw in at the end to make sure she doesn't take your previous statement as harshly as you know she can. You always have to be careful about word choice. You feel relieved when she nods quietly and doesn't look like she's taken the statement to heart. She sits down at the table and you place the plate in front of her. She starts to chow down immediately, and you can see her start to wake up as she eats. You suppose you should consider yourself lucky. Depression comes in a wide array of symptoms. She could have easily ended up the type 'forgetting' to eat or 'not being hungry' instead of the kind of wants comfort food and sleep all the time. Monitoring her meals is a lot easier in your opinion than trying to force them down her throat, especially when you can keep as close an eye on her as you do. Being in the same class and having the same lunch has done wonders for that endeavor and you can see the proof of your efforts. She actually looks happier and healthier than she has in any other run and for that, you can always feel a small bubble of pride when you look at your precious best friend. 

The best part might be the lack of some crush on yourself. You've always thought of her as a baby sister, and in this world, she seems to have embraced the role quite fully. "Go get changed and ready for school," she nods as you as you speak once she's done cleaning her plate quite literally. When she goes back upstairs, trailing her blanket behind her you grab the plate off the table and wash it off, setting it in the drying rack. You've always made lunches for the two of you the day before, and when you get home the two of you will cook dinner together and you'll all eat when her parents get home. You wouldn't trade it for the world considering the fact no matter what you'll always come home to an empty house. When you were young your parents left on a business trip and never came back. You were practically adopted by Sayori's family who are usually the ones to sign any legal papers for you and at this point might as well have custody of you. The only reason you live in that house at this point is that Sayori's house only has two bedrooms. The only reason you remember you have parents is the checks that come in the mail every month.

Sayori comes bounding down the stairs once more and you pull the hairbrush out of your bag that you always keep there. "Slow down," you tell her as you go over to her and quickly start to tame her messy locks. You weren't sure exactly when this became a part of your morning routine but you both have yet to question it so it stays. After you tame her hair to the best of your abilities you finish up with tying in her bow. Placing the hairbrush back in your bag you give her a once over. You nod quietly and turn to open the front door and lead you two out. You let her keep the top button of her blouse undone and you don't fight too vicious against her hair, partly because it's her style and it fits her well. Though you still do make sure she doesn't have any stains on her collar and that her bow is in its proper place. Messy in a way that's adorable and seems intentional. 

The sun has moved and the early crimson battling against the darkness has turned into a subtle gold that's reach its way across a dark blue. Sayori let's loose a big yawn as she stretches. After her stretch she begins to talk, stirring up your typical morning conversation. "I can't believe it's already almost time for the festival! Last year was so much fun, I bet this year is going to be even better. What do you think?"

You nod quietly in response, picking your words carefully. "I think this year is going to be a lot more work," you return as you glance at her. This was going to be the easiest portion of the hard part when it came to this new run, so you were being a bit more cautious in how you responded. 

"Oh right," Sayori says as she draws out the I for as long as possible, "You're going to be starting a club this year, aren't you? After you quit the drama club I honestly expected you to join the coding club or the music club or something along those lines. But thinking about it I suppose starting a literature club also makes sense." She glances at you one more time as she speaks in a way that's almost like she's trying to size you up. Of course, you smirk to yourself quietly, she'd think you'd want to join a coding club. 

"The only reason I like to code is because it's a lot like magic, don't you think?" You tell the smaller girl to her extreme confusion. She doesn't understand what you're saying and you don't really expect her to, but what you say makes perfect sense to you. Code is a lot like magic because to you it is magic. To you, the two are synonymous. And they're the only reason that you still have your best friend. So to say that you liked both magic and coding was a bit of an understatement. "Anyway, have you decided on what club you're joining this year?" You quickly change the subject and put Sayori in the spotlight. She winces slightly as she remembers own current lack of a club. Originally she was in the drama club with you, but it started to get way too toxic during Freshman year. You were expected to be the vice president and eventually take over during your Sophomore, but you ultimately decided to turn down the position and jump ship and when you saw things going downhill. You spent your Sophomore year relatively stress-free because of it and focused on practicing your writing skills and well as indulging a couple of your bad habits like video games. Sayori, on the other hand, stuck through till the end of the year at which point you were fairly convinced she was about to have a panic attack and gently convinced her to quit. Now that you were both Juniors you finally had enough plans down to start your own club as soon as you had the members and Sayori was flying blind. 

"I haven't really decided on anything yet..." Sayori said nervously as she pushed her index fingers together. She could always join the music club considering the set of vocals she had, but you both knew that it wasn't singing she enjoyed. It was musicals because the acting that came along with it. She enjoyed when she could be creative and robust. Which was probably why she was so good at presenting poetry in other runs. 

"Why not join my club?" You ask her finally and she looks at you with wide eyes like a deer in the headlight. "I think with everything I have planned it'll be a really good fit for you. Plus, I think you'd make a really nice Vice President. It'd be just like old times with less yelling and more actual club activities."

Sayori placed a finger against her chin for a moment as she pondered this. "Alright, ask me again once class is over. I need some time to decide!"

"Fine, fine dork. But if you say no don't think I'm letting you get off easy!" You say as you lean over and start to tickle the smaller girl's sides, pausing in your walk. You're certain you won't be late even if you torture the smaller coral haired girl for a couple minutes. Her shrieking giggles float up into the air as you dart away quickly before she can retaliate, and the pair of you race all the way to school. 

 

_(-)(-)(-)(-)_

 

The class moved wonderfully quick, then again you've also been in this same class a million times so any topic they try to throw at you is basically a review. In runs past when you started to get especially bored and flippant, thinking to yourself that these runs would never be over, you'd skip ahead of the class for 'fun' and learn the topics yourself. You were particularly cruel during those runs and didn't pay much attention to the girls. You'd seen them all die so many times you'd basically become desensitized. Of course, you weren't anything like that now, but you still had the plethora of knowledge that you'd accumulated through those hundreds (thousands?) of miserable runs where you couldn't figure out what to do so you tried anything and everything short of killing them yourself and pledging yourself to the brown haired goddess of misery at the heart of this storm. Things were different now considering you were the one who held more control. You wondered if she even had any left, but you leave that thought be. It would sting in ways that were hard to describe if Monika didn't remember at the very least the last run. It would admittedly make things easier though... 

As the bell rings signaling the end of the day and homework is given you start filling out answers on reflex alone as you wait for the classroom to clear out. Sayori is slow to pack up most of the time and usually wants to stay after to ask a couple clarifying questions of the teacher, so you count down the minutes until it's around the time she usually approaches you at the beginning of each run. However, this time you approach her. "So have you decided?" You ask her with a hopeful expression. You give her the biggest puppy dog eyes you can physically summon up and put on your most miserable display of begging. 

You see her jaw tighten for a moment. "I was gonna say yes anyway, stop doing the face," she says in a panic as she covers her eyes and tries to avoid your gaze. You smirk victoriously as you pull her hands away from her eyes and take them into your own, jumping up and down a couple times with a giddy squeal. 

"Okay! Yes! Perfect! You are my Vice President now, so we need two more members to get the club started and then everything will be perfect and amazing and good," you say in a rush of breath as actual excitement claims you for the first time in a long time. You can see shock from Sayori for a moment before a bright smile of her own begins to form. She doesn't get to see you acting like this often. "Okay, so, I already have everything planned out. I've gotten teacher permission and I got the temporary club permit yesterday as well as a claim to the classroom we'll be using. The temporary permit only lasts for a month, at the end of which I have to submit a forum with four members including the two of us or else we'll be disbanded. So all we need is to find two members by the end of the month and we're golden," you explain.

Sayori nods thoughtfully. "It would be good if we could find those members as soon as possible but we can always rely on the festival coming up. The only problem with that is we'd need to find a way to make it seem fun or else no one is going to come," she says as her eyebrows furrow in frustration. She seems a bit more vexed over the issue than she usually does, of course, you only ever saw her and Monika talking at the tail end of their deliberations so this might be normal. 

"Don't worry about that, I've got a couple ideas as to what we could do but first I should really show you what classroom we're going to be using," you say as you take her hand and start leading her out of the room. She quick to grab her bag and swing it over her shoulder with her free arm. You start leading her down the hallways that once so strange now seem familiar to you. You actually got to meet with the teacher who owns the classroom this time around which was especially nice. She only has a class of 12 and she teaches the really advanced English, so she doesn't ever use her closet and most of the students in the class bring their stuff too and from school, so she allowed you free reign of the closet and a couple empty bookshelves as long as you fill them with tasteful choices. You'd already run it past her if it was okay to have food in the classroom or an electric tea set, thinking ahead for the sake of Yuri, and she'd agreed. She'd even agreed to let some Manga be kept in the closet after a lengthy debate about its position as 'true literature' as long as there were also some of the more artful comic present and enough 'typical' literature books that we didn't make ourselves look like an anime club version 2. You assured her there would be no issue with that as you already had a couple different books you'd like to bring from home. Some that would hopefully appeal to the tastes of each girl and help to bring them out of their shells a bit. 

As you opened the door and explained the situation to Sayori she seemed to be impressed. "There's even enough room on the shelves that we could have each member take a shelf depending on how big we ended up getting and they could use it as their 'personal picks' sort of thing. Everyone would be able to read the books and with permission take them home. It would basically be for if anyone wanted to share their favorites and maybe start up some discussions," you explain as you kneel next to one of the bookshelves, one shelf is already filled to the brim with books that the girl quite easily and quickly recognizes and your favorites, mostly because she's heard you go on about them for hours. She's never touched them herself. 

"Wow, that's amazing! It actually shows that you've been planning this for a while," she says with a shake of her head. "Okay, President! What's your first order?" 

You pause for a moment. You want to talk to Natsuki and Yuri yourself since you what buttons to press to make the club seem as appealing as possible. Monika, you want to save for last, in fact, even if you managed to get the other girls today you'd want to save Monika for tomorrow. Which left you wondering what to do with Sayori. Well, you could always start getting ready for the festival. "I want you to draft up a 'come and join us' poster that we can use to get more attention. I say first draft because we might want to add some things and use it for the festival. I'm going to go hunt for new members," you tell her and Sayori nods excitedly as she pulls out a couple boxes of crayons and colored pencils. She pulls out a couple piece of lined looseleaf and starts to sketch on it, though her sketches aren't the most beautiful. You remind yourself that she's good at design but bad with the actual creation, and it might be a good idea to go over it yourself later for the artsy part Sayori's version is sure to lack.

Either way, you push the thoughts from your mind and open the door. Gliding through the halls you set your destination for the library. It's calm after school, usually quiet and full of people studying. Today is no exception though perhaps it's a bit quieter and empty than usual. You weave your way through stacks of books until you get to the far corner where a chair it set up. On it sits a girl with long purple hair, she twitches slightly her breath hitch and eyes widening as her eyes flicker across the pages. There's no glaring eye on the front cover, you made very certain she'd never come across that book, buying both copies yourself and burning them years ago. Those books were never meant for eyes that couldn't comprehend magic, their meanings are hidden well but dangerous none the less. You'd read them of course with the understanding of someone who knew what the real message was. You burned them as soon as you were finished and it took weeks to get over the nightmares. Dark magic should never be taken lightly, you knew that very well. Hopefully never coming across the Portrait of Markov would do this Yuri some good. 

Approaching hesitantly like you were walking towards a wounded deer you cleared your throat gently and she went rigid as she looked at you, eyes going panicky. "Excuse me miss, you seem like you like reading a lot. Would you mind if I talked to you for a moment? I always loved  _The Ghost of Mont Louis_ but no one else ever reads it or even seems to know what it is," you say as you point to the cover of the book. Of course, she'd still like horror but you knew the book well and surely this one wasn't going to make her want to stab herself, let along 'crawl inside your skin'. You still couldn't help but be repulsed by the thought. Yuri was the only one in the club you considered to be an older sister, while Natsuki and Sayori were a lot like younger siblings. Which made it all the more unnerving for you when the elegant and composed girl went completely fucking insane. 

You can see hesitance in her gaze as she gives you a quick once over, but eventually, she relents with a quick nod as she places a piece of paper in her book as a makeshift bookmark. You remembered her mentioning once that she hated dogearing since she despised anything that 'ruined' the book. In the same conversation, Sayori had mentioned that when buying a book from used bookstores it was kind of cool to see the annotations and dog ears of someone else. It gave the book more character and made it feel like someone else was enjoying the story with you. You wanted to be able to have more conversations together like that one day. 

The expression on Yuri's face made it quite clear that you only had a couple moments to speak your case, so you got started immediately into the reason you'd approached her. "A good friend of mine and myself are going to be starting a literature club. I came down to the library looking for members. Since I noticed you were reading a book I was already familiar with, I figured I'd try and approach you first since we need two more members to be an official club. I promise it would be lots of fun. Maybe we'd be able to share some of our thoughts on books we've both read," you say quickly. You could feel your pulse spiking. Natsuki would be the second easiest to convince into joining, making Yuri the hardest. Her nature ensured that you'd have to say just the right words if you wanted her to actually join you and Sayori while mentioning manga and offering her shelter from her father was enough to convince the smaller pink haired girl. Unfortunately, it seemed that Yuri was still hesitant. "You won't have to make a decision immediately. Come and join us for a meeting or two, then you can decide," you smile warmly at her and you see her shoulders relaxing slightly as she's taken in by your expression. She craved attention and kindness, so showering her with both should do the trick.

She looked you in the eyes for a couple moments before nodding hesitantly. "Okay, where the room?" She asked as you quickly pulled out a notepad and jotted down directions for her. 

"I have to keep looking for more members, but my Vice President should be in there. She'll give you a run down and once I find one more person or have to call it quits I'll come back and we can get started with our first true club meeting. 

Yuri nods her thanks as she takes the directions for you and begins reading over them, her book still clutched tightly in her hand. She glances once more at her chair, almost lamentingly, before she shakes her head and starts making her way out of the library. You shove your hands in your pockets and wait a couple moments before doing the same. It doesn't look like there's anyone else of interest in the library so there's no reason to linger. Your next stop, the vending machines. They're all over the school but you have a good inclination as to which ones you should visit. The vending machines in the Sophomore hall were typically the most attractive to those looking for something more than a sugary snack. They sold protein bars and various other items that were at the higher end of the healthy scale when it came to anything you could get out of a vending machine. In addition to that, the most delicious drinks in the whole school were in the area. The sophomores typically guarded them jealously as their one gloating point over the upperclassman, but you'd made enough friends in the lower classes to not get many odd looks for being the area. Similarly, the only reason you as a Junior got away with have a club room in the Senior hall was that you'd made enough friends that no one batted an eye at you anymore. Being a teacher's pet helped you supposed. It certainly didn't hurt that you were often running errands and holding study sessions after you quit the Drama Club. Speaking of which you'd need to put some thought into how those study sessions would align with the club since you did still want to hold them. Maybe weekly instead of daily? It was something to think about later. 

When you got to the familiar set of vending machines you took note of an even more familiar puffball made from the color pink and concentrated cuteness extract. No matter how much she denied the second. She was dusting off her skirt as though she'd just been on the ground. She opened her palm and began to count before a sad expression crossed her features. You believed that was your queue. 

"You short? I've got a couple extra dollars to spare," you say as you glide up to the girl on silent feet. She jumps, taken by too much shock to immediately respond. You pull out your wallet and quickly pop a bill into the vending machine next to the one that Natsuki is standing at, pushing in a combination. The chocolate bar drops down and a second one follows it. Well, you don't think you could have planned that one better you think to yourself with a smirk as you retrieve your two prizes and toss one to Natsuki. "I was grabbing this for a friend but I don't wanna give her two since she'll scarf them both and make herself sick. I don't really like chocolate much myself so I guess it's your lucky day," you tell the pink haired girl as she scrabbles to catch the thrown bar. Her confusion is amazing, you have to admit. Silence isn't something normal to Natsuki, she's normally fairly good with sharp comments and comebacks. But your appearance has taken her so off guard that she lacks the ability to seemingly form words. Given your relationship in the past, you take this as a major win. "So, what were you looking at getting and how short are you?" You asked, your wallet still clutched tightly in your grip. You edge closer to her and peer at one of the drink vending machines. For a moment you think about buying something but decide against it. If things go accordingly you won't need drinks from the vending machine. 

"Who are you?" Natsuki finally says with a tone of shock. 

"Just a random Junior with a little too much money in her pocket. Though, I suppose I could bribe you instead of buying you a gift if that weirds you out," you smirk dangerously and the girl instantly rises to the challenge, the fire in her eyes practically lighting up.

"A bribe for what?" She said with a quick narrowing of her pink eyes, her glare is piercing. It's a familiar sensation and finally, you're about to bring your last sister home, to the place where you all belong. Back home to the Literature Club as it always should have been. Back before everything got messy and twisted up. 

"I'm starting a new club, a literature club. Right now we have two members including myself and one potential member. If we convince the third girl to agree and manage to bring you in, then we'll have enough to have the club officially instated. Of course, I'd still want you to enjoy the club so I'm not going to push you if we can't find something you'd be able to enjoy. All I ask is that you come to join us for a session. But if you don't feel comfortable with that, we can call this a gift and part ways," you say as you push another dollar into the vending machine that Natsuki had been looking at.

Natsuki glared up at you for a moment longer before averting her gaze and pushing a couple buttons on the machine. She still seemed to be thinking over the invitation as she bent down and grabbed the protein bar she'd been looking at. She, of course, picked chocolate, but you knew that she would. She hated protein bars and the only reason she tolerated these kinds was because the chocolate mostly masked what she hated about them. "I don't really read much," she finally mutters quietly with a sigh. 

"Well, maybe you don't read traditional books but it's hard to believe you don't read anything. Manga is just as much literature as a poem is if you're interested in that. In fact, I've even got a little space set aside to put manga but right now it seems that I'm the only member who enjoys reading it," you say. Natsuki takes the bait hook line and sinker as she looks at you once more, completely reevaluating you. You patiently wait for her to finish and she seems to come to a decision.

"Fine, I'll come by, but I'm not going to make any promises that I'll join," she says and you nod enthusiastically. 

"Perfect! In that case, follow me. I'll take you to the club room where the others are waiting. We'll all introduce ourselves and then we can get started," you say and the smaller girl nods once more before tagging along behind you. She seems increasingly uncomfortable as you lead her through the Junior hall and then the Senior hall. As the youngest member of the club you always knew she was far from where she belonged in the club room, but she looks more nervous than you've ever seen as she sticks close beside you. You, on the other hand, seem as confident and in control and someone who's done this a couple hundred times before. 

"I'm back," you announce as you push open the door. Sayori and Yuri are sitting together when you enter, Sayori talking animatedly as Yuri points out a couple things on Sayori's poster. You almost forgot that Yuri herself was one for artistic design. You aren't completely sure if leaving them alone much longer would have been the best or worst decision you've ever made in your entire life. Including all the bad decisions made through the various resets. Natsuki enters after you. You can tell she's hesitant but she puts on an air of confidence. 

"Okay everyone, we're gonna get started with introductions. I'm of course your lovely club president who you've all already met, but the rest of you are still unfamiliar to each other. So I want you all to tell me something interesting when it's your turn. It doesn't even have to be about yourself, though I'd like if it could be literature related. Sayori, would you mind starting?" You say. Sayori is completely unphased by the fact you call on her first. She excitedly stands up and goes as far as to move to the front of the class. 

"Okay!" She says with a bright smile as she looks at the two hopeful new members. "I'm Vice President Sayori, me and prez have been best friends ever since we were kids so I agreed to come by and help. A fun fact is actually that I've written before. Back when we were a part of the Drama Club I used to write my own plays with a little bit of help," she says with all the bubbly joy as you were hoping she would have. This seems to put Natsuki and Yuri at ease a little bit and Sayori's comment about the pair of you seems to have also helped out a little. Or at least gave the impression that the pair of you knew what you were doing. 

"Thank you Sayori," you laugh slightly in amusement before pausing for a moment. "Alright, how about you next," you say as you turn to Natsuki. You're careful not to actually use her name since she hasn't introduced herself to you either. You almost slipped up and said her name, you hate to think what would have happened. 

Natsuki blushes slightly. You would have given her a bit more time to compose herself given how nervous she looks, but you feel this is the lesser of two evils. Saving Yuri for last is the safest decision you can think of considering how fidgety she's already gotten.

"Do I have to go up front?" She asks hesitantly. 

You shake your head. "Of course not dear, do whatever's most comfortable for you," you say. You use the word dear out of habit, as words like that have become something of a habit in your speech pattern. Perhaps she's too nervous to mention anything about it and Yuri doesn't seem to notice either. Sayori does, but Sayori is used to your habit by now and doesn't even bat an eye. 

"Well then," Natsuki begins as she continues to stand close to you. Yuri is the only one still sitting at this point and as you see her nervously shifting you can tell she's trying to decide on if she should stand up or not. "I'm Natsuki, I'm a sophomore... and I don't really know much about Literature. I'm sorry. I don't read often. But I'm willing to learn so I guess if you know any good books I might try them?" She offers up hesitantly and you gently rest a hand on her shoulder in a motion that's supposed to be reassuring. She jolts for a moment before settling down immensely after your touch. 

"Thank you for sharing Natsuki. My hope is that the Literature Club will be something accessible to students of all skill levels, not something exclusive only to those who already know what they're doing. With that said I'm also hopeful to foster a wide array of tastes and writing styles, so don't be afraid to say you enjoy something that might not be the typical normal. Even if you come into this club only knowing how to write terrible fan fiction, the important part is that we all come with an attitude that shows we're willing to learn and grow as writers, readers, and people," you say to the group. Natsuki and Yuri look at you with expressions you can't completely read, but Sayori is smiling at you warmly. "So then, would our final member like to introduce herself?" 

Yuri jolts slightly and stands up awkwardly, almost knocking over the chair she was sitting on before she catches it. Her cheeks turn red as she looks around at everyone and swallows hard. "My, my uh, my name is Yuri. I've been into reading for a long time and my favorite genres are fantasy and horror," she says as she lowers her head slightly. 

"A little on the shy side? That's perfectly fine. Take your time to open up. It's my hope that we'll all be friends soon, so please, try to relax!" You encourage. "Now that we've all got a good idea about each other's personality, we can move on to the next bit. Sayori, would you help me push four of the tables together into a square? We've got a couple different things to talk about and I don't think everyone wants to keep standing. If anyone knows how to make tea, there's an electric tea set stashed away in one of the cabinets," you say. Sayori gets to pushing the desk immediately and Yuri with a little bit of hesitance offers to make the tea. There's a tea set, five mugs, and a box oolong tea ready and waiting for her the first place she checks. Natsuki stands to the side awkwardly for a moment before everything is set and sits down. The fifth mug remains unused when Yuri finishes making the tea and everyone is sat down with their teacups. 

"Oh, right, before I forget," you say. You never would have actually forgotten, but it's the best lead-in you think of as you go into one of the cabinets and pull out a container. Opening the container you reveal chocolate chip cookies that you place in the center for everyone to enjoy. Everyone's eyes open wide as they gaze at the cookies and you think you hear some stomachs growling. You're glad. Major effort went into these cookies all the way to finding high-quality chocolate to smoking the salt and the butter before mixing. "In future meetings, those of us with the resources to do so as well as the skills will take turns making and bringing in snacks. I understand that some of us might not be good at cooking or have a financial difficulty that makes it hard to do so. If all else fails I should be able to handle most of it though we'll have to see how well we're able to keep this 'everyday' thing up. Just maybe if we're lucky we can find a way to squeeze some funding from the student council," you say with a wink. "As for the tea, Yuri, do you think you'll be able to handle that? I think besides you I'm the only one who knows how to use that thing and I'm not very good at it."

Yuri smiles as she answers with a hesitant "of course." You're hopeful that delegating her special tasks will help her to feel more appreciated and at ease, and really you and her are the only ones who can brew tea properly so it's the easiest job you can think of giving her at the moment. 

"All of you feel free to eat and drink. I'm just going to talk for a couple minutes and explain hopefully what's gonna happen in the next couple days. I'd like to do something for the festival, but as long as both of you decide to join it's not a top priority that we get new members. After all, if you two stick around we'll have our four. Plus I think that really the club is best kept on the smaller side. So instead I'm going to propose we use the lead up to the club as a bit of a team-building exercise. We can learn about each other's strengths, weaknesses, and just generally get to learn more about each other. To get everyone more comfortable, our first assignment is going to be writing poetry. Everyone will go home and write a piece of poetry that we'll share together in club tomorrow. I know this might be tough or daunting since poetry is a rather personal experience, but it would be an amazing way for all of us to better get to know each other as well as to improve our writing," you say. After finishing your met with nothing but silence for a couple of moments.

Natsuki is the first to speak up with a groan. "Fine. I'll officially join the club and write the stupid poem," she says and you can hear the nerves in her voice as she speaks. This isn't typically how the idea of poem writing comes up, so you expected her reaction to be different but not quite like this. 

Yuri speaks up next. "This seems interesting, I actually might be excited. I believe that I'll officially join as well."

You and Sayori are silent for a long moment until Sayori unleashes an excited squeal. You can feel a smile inching across your features. "Wonderful, I'll get the paperwork submitted tonight and we'll be an official club tomorrow. There isn't much more to go over for today and it's starting to get late, so allow me to officially say that the Literature Club's very first meeting in now dismissed," you say and you all four give a small cheer. You all begin to pack up, some more nervous than others, when a memory quickly strikes you. "Before we leave, let me give you the writing tip for the day!" This quick grabs the attention of everyone in the room as you remember the old tradition of Monika's. "Always remember to write from the heart. Never linger, thinking too long about what you want the message of your piece to be like. Let your emotions guide you. If you sit there thinking about what you want something to be for too long, all you'll get in the end is a messy ink blob. You can always go back to clean things up once you've written something, but you have to write something first." You say as you remember Monika's first tip about just writing and getting everything down on paper. You like to think you took that message and incorporated it into your own rather well. 

After they finish packing Yuri and Natsuki leave. You walk out with Sayori and just like usual the pair of you walk home together. You barely keep Sayori from munching on the leftover cookies, doing your best to send Natsuki home with as many as you could make her take without drawing attention to the fact you were doing it. Besides, the fewer cookies you kept Sayori from eating before dinner the better for everyone. That thought was enough to convince you that maybe tomorrow you should make fewer snacks. Of course, if you'd had Monika then this amount would have been perfect. You shook your head quietly and instead of thinking about Monika you turned your thoughts to what you'd make for dinner tonight. You had a new recipe you'd been meaning to try for a while, and you needed to go shopping for more sugar anyway. 

 

_(-)(-)(-)(-)_

 

Class ended just as quickly the second day as it did the first. Of course, what had been peaceful for you had been a chaotic rush for Sayori who despite being reminded three times neglected the fact that she had to write a poem and ended up finishing in class after you reminded her on your walk to school. You wondered what kind of creation she'd end up with given such a situation, but you knew that she'd manage. Sayori could be a bit scattered but she was no slouch when it came to writing. Even if it was last minute. If anything she had a magical superpower of sorts to put in 100% only when it was down to the wire. You had to appreciate such an ability, but at the same time, you also were obligated to tease her since she was supposed to be the Vice President. You, on the other hand, went all out trying to make a good impression, making sure that your style blended in such a way that would be pleasing to all your classmates. In fact, your style had originally started to develop in a bid to please them all equally, but eventually, you started to branch out. This was reminiscent of your older works in style but with the added boost of your modern skill level. So hopefully everyone would be able to enjoy it. 

"Did you finish?" You asked your Vice President as the bell rang. 

"Yeah," she said as she pressed her index fingers together and looked away in embarrassment. 

You sigh and shake your head while a smile is still present on your features. "Go ahead and go to the club, tell the girls they have free time to do as they please until I get there. I have to go talk to a teacher," the lie slips from your lips easily enough. You don't regret the lie as Sayori nods and goes off on her way. She doesn't need to know that you're looking for Monika, not when she doesn't even know who Monika is. You stand up to leave yourself, knowing exactly what path you're talking. You head off Monika just as she's about to leave, which is a happy coincidence that it just so happens to be on the way to the teacher's lounge if anyone asks questions. You bump into her as gently as possible but she staggers backward the moment she realizes it's you. 

"Oh hey, you're Monika, right? We knew each other a couple years back but I don't really expect you to remember me," you don't mention knowing her from classes. You did have classes together before, but she tried to avoid you as much as possible. It helped her that she was a year above you, but you were also an advanced student. The only reason you had classes with Sayori this year was simply for the fact you decided to take simple classes in hopes of being in the same class as Sayori. 

Monika doesn't seem to know how to respond considering the situation is flipped on its head. Her eyes stare deeply into yours as she tried to pick apart your motive and just how much you know, but she doesn't find anything that she's looking for. With all the deft and grace of someone who was in the Drama Club for years you pull off your role as innocent strange well and leave her with more questions than she has answers. Exactly how you need her. You do let a little shiver of joy run up and down your spine as you look her in the eyes. For as horrible as she acted, Monika's situation was no different than Yuri's. She was playing with magic she didn't understand, it took control of her and convinced her of lies that broke her apart slowly but surely. Even so, you still found yourself loving her. At least in her moments of sanity before she started toying with the 'code' and playing the 'game' to her favor. This was a Monika who remembered her crimes, but seemingly had no power left. A Monika without magic was a Monika with retained sanity. Or so you at least hoped. And a Monika who retained her sanity with a beautiful muse with which you could quickly find yourself enamored. You continue on with your act to her chagrin, internally smirking as the traces of frustration that play through her green orbs. "Wait, aren't you a member of the Debate Club? Why are you leaving school?" 

Monika's brow furrows for just a moment and you wonder just how much she can tell. Is it just a gut instinct? Or does she actually see through your facade? When she finally speaks you think that she's just working off instinct that you know more than implied. "I left a little while ago. I couldn't take all the politics or drama," she says as she looks away from you for a moment. There's more to her words and if you didn't know her you'd likely be confused. But knowing her as well as you do you can tell that there are prickles of shame jutting through her words. Droplets of regret that drip from her mouth with every word. In this moment she's a beautiful and poetic masterpiece of a tragedy. You wonder if you can make it into a comedy that would rival Shakespear himself. 

"In that case why not join my club! We were actually just made official with four members yesterday, but we could always do with a fifth. It's a small club so you won't get any of the drama that comes with the big clubs. Pretty please!" You drag out the please for as long as possible, or more so as long as Monika's face shows any hint of resisting. By the time your drawn out plead if finished she looks fully defeat and broken. 

"Okay," she says and you can see the misery in her eyes. Obviously, she doesn't think this can go well, and you feel a small pang in your heart. You take her hand, gently as though you think holding her too tight might break her, and you lead her down the halls to the familiar classroom that once held her club. You can hear laughter on the other side of the door and Monika for just a moment looks vexed. Is such a sound so strange to her ears? When you open the door you see Sayori once again talking so animatedly that her hands move as she speaks. She's telling some outrageous tell and Natsuki is howling with laughter. Yuri is trying to keep her composure but the giggles keep breaking the facade. The scent of tea is fresh in the air and you see that all five cups are sitting filled. If by accident or not, you can't help but feel as though it was meant to be. This is right, and you're home now and everything is exactly how it's supposed to be. Perfect. Monika for the first time since you took her hand, grips your hand back. Her grip tightens as the others look at you. 

"Girls, this is Monika. She recently left her club so I'm having her come here and see if she wants to join ours," you say as Monika almost seems to wither beside you. The eyes of the women she supposedly killed are bearing into her. Without the influence of whatever it was that had Monika convinced everything wasn't real, the reality of the situation was likely fully dawning on her. And then Sayori smiled, in that bright and beautiful way that was welcoming and forgiving to everyone no matter who they were or what they'd done. 

"Hey there! Welcome to the little family Monika, I was just telling Natsuki and Yuri a story while we waited for the prez. Are we gonna share poems now? I'm actually really excited! I got a sneak peek and Yuri's and it's so good!" Sayori blathered as a deep blush blossomed on Yuri's cheeks. You laughed quietly. 

"Ah, of course, right. Monika, we agreed to write and share poems yesterday. Girls, even if Monika doesn't have anything to share I still want you to share with her so that she can start getting more comfortable," you say as you set your bag down and retrieve your poem. "Okay everyone, it's poem time." The girls pair off easily enough and begin sharing. Or more so Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri all begin sharing in a group of three while they leave Monika to you for the time being. You suppose that's good, you honestly wanted to show Monika your poem first anyway. 

Without missing a beat you had the girl the poem. It's written on fine stationery and you wrote it with a fancy quill dip pen literally just because you could and you felt like it. It's a far cry from the first time you showed her a poem and that knowledge shows on her face when she looks upon your poem with shock. In addition, it's likely one of the longest poems you've ever written. It had to be given what you wanted to say with that poem. The title sat at the top of the page staring Monika dead in the face,  _This Is Our Reality_. And judging by the mix of emotions that played across her face you knew very well that she understood exactly what the poem was about. That she remembered everything. And in a way that made you glad. If you were the only one to remember you surely would have gone mad, but having Monika remember was particularly important to you. While you'd forgiven her, her actions were still terrible. She did a lot of things wrong and needed to atone. But you thought she deserved to atone. Hence why you'd done all of this in the first place. This was her second chance, a gift to the girl you'd at first begun to fall in love with before everything started to turn sour. 

You could see hints of tears in her eyes as she gazed down at the paper before finally handing it back to you. You took it from her delicately, looking at her for a moment before turning away. "Take a moment, I'm going to go share with the others. Please, try to relax," you how that the warmth in your chest is obvious in your voice and glancing at her once last time it seems like there's curiosity in her gaze. A confusion that she's going to have to wait a little longer to be resolved. As expected the other girls admit that they all like the poem as you show it to them. Yuri mentions that you write like you have experience, Sayori says she's shocked and impressed since she didn't know you were this good of a writer, and even Natsuki in her typical teasing way at least admits to appreciating the way that it was written even if it's not her style or taste. 

Right before you're about to finish poem sharing you catch the familiar trailing of conversation from Natsuki and Yuri. Monika who has mostly been on the sideline flinches with knowledge of what's coming next and her eyes turn to Sayori in expectation of what's going to happen. She knows from experience Sayori is the only thing that could ever break up the pair. At least, it was. 

But you're the club leader now, and if there's one thing you won't tolerate it's fighitng in your club. "What do you mean it's cute?" Natsuki's voice goes shrill as the two begin to fight. You wait a couple of moments. If this fight has to happen, you're going to make it into a learning experience. So you let the two go at it for just a couple of moments before you step in. 

"This is enough," you say in a voice that booms and easily drowns at the pair. The look at you with small hints of shock. You can see Sayori's eyes widen in the corner of your vision and even Monika looks a little shocked. You cross your arms and easily take on the person of leader and president. "I'm very disappointed in the both of you. You're both acting childish right now and honestly, you're missing the point of this club. Both of you have very distinct styles that I have to say are rather refined. That much is obvious. Yuri, Natsuki's work is amazing because it relies on brevity, which can be one of the strongest and most impacting things about writing. Her writing is like a punch in the gut to the reader. And Natsuki, while brevity is something to keep in mind there's beauty in writing something that the reader can ask questions about. Both of you have good styles, but being able to find a meeting ground between both of you is where truly famous writers come from. Something that has a clear message that hit you like a brick while also quietly convincing you to ask more of the piece in question. To read deeper," you pause for a moment as you sigh and let the two think.

"That being said, that's not what I'm upset about. I can understand if it's simply an argument over style. What I'm upset about is the way that you two handled it," another pause as you stare down the two who lower their heads and begin to look more and more like children getting scolded. "Both of you acted out. Natsuki, it needs to be noted that you were the instigator. Your comments towards Yuri were rude at best and you handled the entire encounter rather poorly. There's a time to tease and then there's a time to know when to keep your mouth in check. Yuri, while you weren't the instigator you handled the situation just as poorly if not worse. My biggest issue here is the inability for you to take criticism. To quote you directly 'I've spent a lot of time developing my style and I don't expect it to change soon' was something that didn't need to be said. I don't care if you've been writing for 1 day and 100 years. There's always room for growth and improvement, and if you can't learn how to take criticism and adapt to it then you shouldn't be a writer. I suppose I'm not upset as much as I am disappointed with how both of you reacted. There is always, and I mean always room for growth as both a writer and a person. And you know what, sometimes there are going to be comments that hurt. Sometimes people are going to tell you things that are useless to you because it is your style and you don't want to change it. But it's still important to always listen to what other people are telling you because being able to grow as a writer means trying things you aren't comfortable with. Trying things that are new and learning from the experiences and thought of others. Always be open to changing your style, be it forever or even just if it's on a single piece because it means that you're trying something new and you're growing as not just a writer but a person through the new experiences others give to you. And that's my writing tip for the day," you finish off your little lecture with a small smile. 

"Now that my lecture is over and I don't have to play bad guy anymore, kiss and makeup. You guys are both great writers and I think you could learn from each other. It would be a shame if you stopped liking one another over something as silly as a little fight over style," you say as you allow your stiffened back to relax. The two girls who were in the hot seat seem to relax slightly with you. 

"I'm sorry that all I could think of to say was that your poem was cute," Yuri starts. "I didn't know what else to say since I've never read anything like this before. I suppose I closed myself off to new things so much that I forgot that something simple can still be powerful. I love the way that the rhyme falls flat at the end because it really does feel like a 'punch in the stomach' and I was wrong not to acknowledge that." The purple haired girl dips her head. 

Natsuki perks up slightly. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I think I kind of just got jealous because your poem has such amazing word choice. It feels elegant and mysterious without feeling forced, and that's something I could never quite get right," Natuski blushes as she speaks and Yuri looks at her, blinking a couple of times. 

"You know, if you ever wanted to work together, maybe I could help show you and give you a couple pointers if maybe you could help me practice being more direct?" The purple haired girl offered. It felt like Sayori, Monika, and yourself were all holding your breath for a moment. 

"I'd like that," Natsuki finally says after a pause that was way too long for your poor heart. You nod in approval as the two of them glance at you and you can see twin smiles growing on their faces. 

You look at your wrist for a moment, checking the clock on it. "That long already. Shame. Unfortunately, it seems we're all out of time for today. I have to go help with tutoring in the library so if any of you have something you'd like to discuss you can tag along with me. One last thing. In light of today's events, I'm going to issue a challenge of sorts. Everyone is going to write tomorrow's poems under a theme. That theme is going to be Forest. The poem can be whatever you want but try to have it match the theme if you can. When we meet again we'll all be able to have a more in-depth discussion about individual writers voice and I'll set up a little game of sorts to help us all get a bit more used to having others comment on their works. In addition, we'll be setting aside 10 minutes at the end to talk about the festival. Expect the club to run a little longer than usual because of that. With that being said, meeting adjourned," you say and everyone starts to pack up. Sayori leaves first. You'd talked about the issue of tutoring with her the other day and she said that doing it after club would probably still work since usually, tutoring lasted past club time anyway. You weren't the only tutor after all, so everything would work out fine even if there was an hour less of you. Sayori would probably be at the library getting help on her math homework by the time you got there. You lingered a couple minutes waiting to see if anything approached you. Hopeful almost. 

Finally, the moment came. Monika approached slowly, hesitantly, looking at you with a mix of confusion and caution. It was just the two of you alone in the classroom now. "Why?" Was the only word she said. 

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to elaborate," you told her.

"Why do this? I know that you remember what I did. So why start over? How did you start over? Why would you do any of this?" She says in frustration and you can see teardrops in her gaze. Walking over without any hint of hesitation you brush one of the tears that falls away from her cheek. 

"How is the easiest to answer. What you thought was 'code' was actually 'magic' although I suppose ultimately the two aren't all that different. How I did it is because I simply waited quiet and learned after you broke the code and our little 'game' kept looping over and over. I don't know if you only remember the first round or if you remember all of them, but it happened a lot of time," you begin. She shakes her head and you assume that's meant to imply she only remembers the first time. 

"I think I'd die if I remembered doing all of  _that_ more than just once. Oh god, I did so many horrible things. Why would you bring me back to this?" She said and you can hear a shiver in her voice as she speaks. 

"Monika, look at me," you say using your hand to tilt her chin up until she's meeting your gaze. "Yes, you did some horrible and fucked up shit. Under the influence of what could basically be summed up as a devil, but horrible things none the less. That being said, they weren't entirely your choice, and you've told me before if you knew a way to settle things peacefully you would have. I think all that considered, you deserve a second chance. So I changed things in whatever ways I thought would make this the best possible ending for all of us since I'm not sure we can cause another loop. I made myself president this time so you could enjoy your time with the other girls and maybe start making it up to them. I even invited you last because I wanted to make sure that you knew everyone was happy and healthy and safe and that we were all getting along well and waiting for you to come home to us. The Literature Club is a family, and those girls are our sisters. You fucked up and made a mistake. So pick yourself up and find a way to make it up to them because they're still here with you and this time we're all gonna stay together through thick and thin. And I fully intend to do whatever it takes to protect all the members of my club. Even if I have to personally go punch out Natsuki's dad," you say the last part with a hint of humor and Monika laughs. 

"So if everyone in the Literature Club is sisters does that make us sisters too?" She asks as she quirks her eyebrow. 

"OH absolutely not. It's wrong to try flirting with your sister so I guess they're more your sisters-in-law and my actual sisters. That seems fitting right?" You offer up with a Cheshire grin wondering how she'll respond to the statement. 

"I'm not flirting with you anymore," she says indignantly with a flare of fire brushing across her cheeks. 

"Who says you were the one flirting," you whisper as you lean in close, eyes glinting mischievously. You can feel Monika's breath hitch but she doesn't move back. 

"Why are you messing with me like this? You know that I actually liked you, right?" She whines as she nervously meets your gaze. "Or are you actually trying to torture me? Trial by fire, hm? Do I need to suffer for my redemption?" 

"Liked as in past tense? As in not anymore? Because I'm not trying to mess with you. I'm trying to flirt with you because I think you're cute and I was actually starting to develop a crush on you before you went completely kookiedooks," you return. Her cheeks are full blossoms of red at this point. 

"Really?" She asks in a quiet whisper, as though she's scared she's about to break some kind of fragile lie and wake up to a harsh reality. You'll deliver no such disappointment. 

"Honestly and truly. I want to see that you understand what you did was wrong and grow past it as a person. Part of why I want to see this is because I do love you, so I'll stand by you while you puzzle things out. Please go out with me," you tell her in a voice gentle and soft enough to match her own. Tears start to gather in her eyes and gentle fall and she sniffs lightly. 

"Of course," she said with a small nod, reaching out to loop her arms around your neck in a hug. 

"Can I kiss you?" You ask her without really thinking too much about it. The desire slipped from your lips without your consent and you felt worried as to how she might respond the moment that the words were in the air. 

"Absolutely," she whispered quietly as she pulled back enough for you to have a clear view of her lips. Leaning towards her, you placed your own against hers. It wasn't fireworks or sparklers but it was warm and gentle and everything you have wanted for more resets than you could recall. Finally, everything was right and everyone happy and the pair of lips against your were the lips of the woman you'd fallen in love with. Maybe things were going to be a little bumpy. They always were, that was just a part of life. But you knew that you and your club would stumble through it and make it out the other end. Together. As you melted into that kiss, everything was finally right with the world. 


End file.
